- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 7 seats
- Engine
2.4T, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
198kW, 420Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 8.5L/100KM
- Manufacturer
4WD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
5 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2021)
2023 Toyota Kluger GXL review
The Toyota Kluger serves as the big sister to the ever-popular RAV4 medium SUV – and it might just be the solution to your family’s car storage problems.
- Well-packaged middle row, third row and boot
- Servicing costs are low
- Toyota’s infotainment offering is much improved
- Why not just buy the hybrid?
- Urban fuel consumption can be high
- Purchase price isn’t particularly affordable compared to rivals
2023 Toyota Kluger GXL
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and Toyota SUVs.
The brand is so dominant in this space that it has three large SUVs available: the Toyota Fortuner, the Toyota Prado, and the car I’m reviewing here: the 2023 Toyota Kluger.
The Kluger is more city-focussed than its large SUV siblings, with seven seats and the option of all-wheel-drive abilities and a hybrid powertrain if you need it.
It serves as the next step up from the ever-popular RAV4 medium SUV in Toyota’s model range, offering growing families some added flexibility.
Here, we test-drive the mid-range, all-wheel-drive, full-petrol Kluger GXL to find out if it's the right flavour of Toyota SUV for you.
How much does the Toyota Kluger cost in Australia?
Across the Kluger range, buyers have the choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive and full-petrol or hybrid.
The Toyota Kluger GXL AWD I'm testing here is priced from $63,640 plus on-road costs.
It’s not a hybrid, and is instead powered by a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that sends power to all four wheels via an eight-speed sports automatic transmission.
Spending a bit more to get this grade adds features like heated front seats with electric adjustment, plus in-built satellite navigation and a power tailgate.
Rivals for the Toyota Kluger include the Kia Sorento, Nissan Pathfinder, Hyundai Santa Fe and Mazda CX-9.
For roughly the same price as the mid-spec Kluger GXL I’m reviewing, you could afford a top-spec, diesel-powered, all-wheel-drive Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe.
Slightly more expensive is a mid-spec, petrol-powered, all-wheel-drive Mazda CX-9, which starts at $68,700 plus on-road costs, while the Nissan Pathfinder range starts at $71,490 plus on-road costs.
Get a great deal today
Interested in this car? Provide your details and we'll connect you to a member of the Drive team.
In my opinion, however, the most compelling rival for the Toyota Kluger GXL AWD is simply the same car in hybrid form.
Toyota only charges $2500 more for the GXL AWD hybrid grade, which has marginally smaller outputs on the road, but promises vastly lower fuel consumption.
Key details | 2023 Toyota Kluger GXL AWD |
Price | $64,640 plus on-road costs |
Colour of test car | Galena Blue |
Options | Metallic paint – $675 |
Price as tested | $65,315 plus on-road costs |
Drive-away price | $70,996 (Melbourne) |
Rivals | Kia Sorento | Nissan Pathfinder | Hyundai Santa Fe |
How much space does the Toyota Kluger have inside?
The cabin of the Kluger is straightforward in its design and prizes practicality over wow factor.
The seats in the GXL grade are finished in a synthetic leather and are cushiony and soft, while the upholstery feels smooth to the touch and easy to wipe clean. They are heated and offer eight-way electric adjustment for both the driver and passenger.
The gearshifter and steering wheel are leather-accented and feel similarly smooth.
Its 12.3-inch central infotainment touchscreen is surrounded by gloss black plastic, while the rest of the dashboard is finished in a combination of synthetic leather, pebbled plastic, and silver plastic with a matte metallic finish.
There are plenty of storage opportunities scattered throughout the front seats of the Kluger, including slim bottle holders in the doors, two cupholders in the centre console, and a deep centre console bin with a sleek sliding lid.
Cleverly, Toyota has added two small storage trays – perfect for your phone and keys – with one sitting below the infotainment screen, while the other can be found in front of the front passenger.
There’s no wireless smartphone charger, but you can connect your phone using one of two USB-C ports or one USB-A port.
All Kluger grades receive three-zone climate control, which can be managed using the physical climate controls below the central touchscreen – consisting of a series of prominent buttons, tabs and dials that offer a clear, tactile user experience.
Meanwhile, second-row occupants will enjoy substantial knee, leg and head room, particularly with the sliding rear bench positioned at its furthest point from the front seat.
The rear bench can slide forward and back using levers at the base of the outboard seating positions, allowing passengers to gain access to the third row. I did find that sliding the bench was a bit fiddly as it didn’t always lock into position straight away.
In one instance I even drove away without realising it hadn’t clicked into place – resulting in some dramatic movements and sounds from the back seat.
However, even with the middle row moved all the way forward to make room for third-row occupants, Toyota has carved out enough space to maintain some semblance of leg and knee room – even for the middle-seat occupant.
Child seats can be installed using the two prominent ISOFIX mounting points on each of the outboard seats, with three top-tether attachment points over the back of the middle row.
At the back of the centre console, there are dedicated climate controls for the second row and two USB-A ports, while air vents are located on the roof above each rear window.
In terms of back seat storage, there are map pockets on the back of the front seats, bottle holders in the doors, and a fold-down armrest with two cupholders.
The third row is fairly easy to access thanks to that sliding, folding middle row, which provides a narrow but serviceable entry passage.
The third row can be easily raised either from the middle row or from the boot via pull tabs on the back of the seats, while the headrests flip up or down as required.
Sitting in the third row is not entirely intolerable compared to other, smaller three-row SUVs, but it’s certainly better suited to short trips, with minimal head room and toe room.
The experience can be vastly improved if middle-seat occupants are willing to sacrifice some space and move their seats forward – allowing for more humane leg room.
Otherwise, large dedicated side windows allow for plenty of light and roof-mounted air vents counteract the claustrophobia.
Unlike the Kia Sorento, there are no ISOFIX points in the third row of the Kluger, but it does have curtain airbags all the way to the third row and seatbelt warnings for all seven seats.
The Kluger’s boot offers 552L of storage space with the third row folded flat, which is similarly sized to the boot in the Toyota RAV4 medium SUV.
When all three rows are in use, there’s 241L of cargo space left – enough for roughly eight bags of supermarket shopping.
Toyota’s decision to place the full-size spare wheel underneath the car has freed up an impressive amount of underfloor storage, which can cleverly accommodate the removable fabric cargo blind, which shrinks to slot in neatly without any obstructions.
With the second and third rows folded in a 60:40 split, the Kluger’s total cargo capacity is a whopping 1150L.
2023 Toyota Kluger GXL AWD | |
Seats | Seven |
Boot volume | 241L to third row 552L to second row 1150L to first row |
Length | 4966mm |
Width | 1930mm |
Height | 1755mm |
Wheelbase | 2850mm |
Does the Toyota Kluger have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
Toyota’s infotainment hasn’t traditionally been particularly impactful, but the Kluger’s new interface feels like a dramatic improvement on previous iterations.
The large 12.3-inch touchscreen with colour graphics brings the Kluger in line with some of its more modern rivals, offering wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity, plus Android Auto through a wired connection.
I used the wireless CarPlay throughout my week with the car and found it mostly consistent, but had once instance where it inexplicably dropped out and had to be reconnected.
Another small gripe was that there was no quick way to skip through Spotify tracks via the steering wheel controls when connected to CarPlay.
In addition to the central touchscreen, there’s also a small driver display nestled between the tachometer and speedometer, where the speed-limit information, digital speedo, driver assistance settings, and cruise-control status appears.
For the first 12 months of ownership, every new Kluger also gains a complimentary subscription to Toyota Connected Services, which uses the car’s in-built communication module to provide key information to your smartphone.
If you download the Toyota Connected app, you’ll have remote access to your car’s location, fuel levels, lock status and driving data, and you can also receive alerts if you’ve lent your car to someone and they’re travelling above the speed limit or using it outside of the agreed-upon hours.
Finally, Toyota Connected Services also enable you to place an SOS call from a button in your car during an emergency, plus your car can automatically alert Toyota’s Emergency Call Centre in the event of an accident and you can track your vehicle if it’s stolen.
Is the Toyota Kluger a safe car?
The Kluger range has a current five-star safety rating from ANCAP from 2021.
It received a 90 per cent score for adult occupant protection, 88 per cent for child occupant protection, 76 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 82 per cent for its safety assist technologies.
All 2023 Kluger variants have seven airbags, but miss out on the centre airbag between front seat occupants that’s becoming increasingly common in SUVs.
Importantly, the Kluger boasts curtain airbags that extend all the way to the third row, as well as seatbelt reminders for all seven seats.
The full suite of Toyota’s Safety Sense technologies is available as standard, no matter which Kluger grade you purchase.
2023 Toyota Kluger GXL AWD | |
ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2021) |
Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
What safety technology does the Toyota Kluger have?
Toyota Safety Sense encompasses essential active safety features like a rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, and autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection and junction assist.
All of the aforementioned features are standard across the Kluger range, as is a lane-departure monitoring system with steering assist, automatic high beams, speed-sign recognition, and all-speed active cruise control with curve speed reduction and lane-trace assist.
Jumping up to the Grande grade adds a panoramic-view monitor, which would have come in handy for such a large car, but a regular reverse camera is standard across the range. It appears crisper than previous generations of Toyota reverse cameras, but it’s still relatively basic in its execution.
I appreciated the combination of front and rear sensors when parking, but would have loved a slightly larger driver display when managing cruise control and other driver assistance features at freeway speeds.
Toyota’s lane-keep system isn't shy – beeping quickly and loudly any time I had to veer slightly out of my lane in order to overtake a cyclist or avoid an obstacle.
I briefly tested the curve speed reduction capabilities on the active cruise-control system around a particularly sharp bend on a freeway and found it didn't slow the car quickly or dramatically enough for my liking, meaning I had to intervene.
How much does the Toyota Kluger cost to maintain?
Toyota’s standard vehicle warranty is five years and unlimited kilometres, but if you maintain your Kluger in accordance with its scheduled service logbook, Toyota will extend the engine and driveline warranty for an additional two years.
One of the Kluger’s biggest drawcards is Toyota’s remarkably affordable capped-price servicing, which will only cost you $265 per annual visit for the first five years, or 75,000km, of ownership.
Service visits are required every 12 months or 15,000km.
The Kluger GXL AWD will cost $1652.47 to insure per year based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
A comparable Kia Sorento will cost $1367.61 to insure annually based on the same criteria – so it seems the Kluger is a more expensive vehicle to insure.
However, the hybrid Kluger is notably more expensive than its pure-petrol counterpart and attracts a premium of $1890.04 per year.
The Kluger’s 68L fuel tank can be filled with 91-octane unleaded petrol, with no requirement for premium unleaded.
At a glance | 2023 Toyota Kluger GXL AWD |
Warranty | Five years, unlimited km |
Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km |
Servicing costs | $795 (3 years) $1325 (5 years) |
Is the Toyota Kluger fuel-efficient?
Toyota claims 8.5L/100km of fuel consumption over a combined driving cycle in the Kluger GXL AWD.
However, my fuel consumption settled at 10.0L/100km over an even mix of freeway and urban driving, but crept as high as 15.0L/100km during strictly urban driving.
This could see you suffer at the bowser if your daily driving consists mainly of inner-city commuting.
If fuel costs are a concern, I would strongly recommend looking at the same grade in hybrid form, which costs $2500 more but quotes fuel consumption of 5.6L/100km on a combined cycle.
The Kluger will run on unleaded petrol with a minimum octane rating of 91.
Fuel Consumption - brought to you by bp
Fuel Useage | Fuel Stats |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 8.5L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 10.0L/100km |
Fuel type | 91-octane unleaded |
Fuel tank size | 68L |
What is the Toyota Kluger like to drive?
I expected the Kluger to feel quite heavy and sluggish on the road given its size, but it actually feels surprisingly light and the dimensions feel manageable from behind the wheel.
The 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine powering the GXL AWD grade is a new addition to the Kluger range and replaces a naturally aspirated V6.
If you hold concerns about this unit feeling underpowered compared to its predecessor, you might be pleasantly surprised.
There’s 198kW of power and 420Nm of torque available, meaning the Kluger is not stressed about getting moving from a standstill and is able to maintain even performance as it moves up to higher speeds.
Power delivery through the eight-speed automatic is steady but consistent – it’s never particularly punchy, but it’s always smooth and reliable.
The ride is pillowy and soft, even erring on the side of feeling wobbly around corners, but it should ensure all occupants are protected from rougher roads – even the third row.
I noticed the ride became a bit harder at higher speeds, loudly thumping over seams in the freeway, but there’s no edge felt in the cabin.
The steering feel in the Kluger is very light, with a moderate response, while an 11.4m turning circle means it’s unexpectedly manageable in smaller streets despite its almost five-metre long body.
Switching the car into sport mode hones the steering response and sharpens the acceleration, plus there is an eco drive mode, and mud, sand, rock and dirt modes for off-road driving.
Visibility is pretty great for a three-row car, although rear visibility is somewhat limited by the middle and third-row headrests.
As the driver, I felt perfectly positioned in the car – able to see everything around me, but not so high up that I felt disproportionate to other vehicles on the road.
Road noise in the Kluger's cabin is barely noticeable around town, but I did notice some wind and tyre noise at freeway speeds, which caused me to turn up the volume on the sound system by a few points.
Engine noise, meanwhile, is a muted drone that’s not particularly exciting but easy to ignore.
One final note – on my second day of driving, the cabin developed an anonymous rattle and I couldn’t locate the source. It miraculously disappeared of its own accord on day four, but proved highly annoying in the interim.
Key details | 2023 Toyota Kluger GXL AWD |
Engine | 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol |
Power | 198kW @ 6000rpm |
Torque | 420Nm @ 1700–3600rpm |
Drive type | All-wheel drive |
Transmission | Eight-speed torque converter automatic |
Power-to-weight ratio | 99.8kW/t |
Weight (kerb) | 1985kg |
Spare tyre type | Full-size |
Tow rating | 2000kg braked 700kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 11.4m |
Should I buy a Toyota Kluger?
The Toyota Kluger won the Best Large SUV category in the 2023 Drive Car of the Year awards for good reason.
Its standout appeal stems from the fact it does so many things well and, as such, can be considered the Swiss Army knife of the Toyota SUV range.
No matter which Kluger you buy, you’ll get comprehensive safety equipment, low ownership costs, a comfortable interior and a familiar, consistent on-road experience.
The downsides are that Toyota’s consistent popularity could mean you face a substantial waiting period before you get your new car, plus the Kluger’s purchase price is a little higher than some of its key rivals and its third row is cramped for adult occupants.
Still, despite a distinct lack of X-factor in the cabin, the GXL grade feels really well equipped and is a safe bet in terms of value for money.
However, with urban fuel consumption regularly creeping up above 10L/100km on my test, I’d seriously consider buying the hybrid GXL if you can swing the extra $2500.